Minimal access surgery [MAS] is not available to most people in the rural areas of Low Middle-Income Countries [LMIC]. This leads to an increase in the morbidity and the economic loss to the poor and the marginalized. The Gasless laparoscopic surgeries [GAL] are possible in rural areas as they could be carried out under spinal-anaesthesia. In most cases, it does not require the logistics of providing gases for pneumoperitoneum and general anaesthesia. The current study compares GAL with conventional Laparoscopic surgeries [COL] for general surgical procedures METHODS: A single-centre, non-blinded randomized control trial [RCT] was conducted to evaluate non - inferiority of GAL versus COL at a teaching hospital in New Delhi. Patients were allocated into two groups and underwent MAS (Cholecystectomies and appendectomies). The procedure was carried out by two surgeons by randomly choosing between GAL and COL. The data was collected by postgraduates and analyzed by a biostatistician. 100 patients who met the inclusion criteria were allocated into two groups. No significant difference was observed in the mean operating time between GAL group (52.9 min) vs COL group (55 minutes) [p=0.3]. The intraoperative vital signs were better in the GAL group [p < 0.05]. The postoperative pain score was slightly higher in the GAL group [p = 0.01]; however, it did not require additional analgesics. No significant differences were found between the two groups. GAL can be classed as non-inferior compared to COL and has the potential to be adopted in low resource settings.

Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown have adversely affected global health care services to varying extent. Emergency Services were also affected along with elective surgeries, which were deferred to accommodate the added burden of COVID 19 affected patients, on the healthcare systems. We aimed to assess the change in delivery of essential and emergency surgeries due to the pandemic. Methodology: A research consortium led by WHO Collaboration Centre (WHOCC) for Research in Surgical Care Delivery in Low- and Middle-Income countries (LMIC), India, conducted this retrospective cross-sectional study with 12 recruited centers. All surgeries performed during the months of April 2020 were compared with those performed in April 2019. These surgeries were stratified into emergency and elective, and further categorized based on NHS surgery prioritization documents. Results: A total of 4396 surgeries were performed at these centers in April 2019 and 1216 surgeries were performed in same month during 2020, yielding a fall of 72.3% (1216 /4396).We found a 54% reduction in emergency surgeries and a 91% reduction in the elective surgeries. Number of cesarean sections reduced by 29.7% and fracture surgeries declined by 85.3% Laparotomies and surgeries for local soft tissue infections with necrotic tissue reduced by 71.7% and 69.5% respectively. Conclusion: Our study quantifies the effects of COVID 19 pandemic on surgical care delivery in India and documents that the overall surgical volume reduced by three fourths in the pandemic period. Emergency surgeries reduced to half when compared with pre-pandemic period. Cesarean section surgeries were affected the least by pandemic, whereas the fracture surgeries and laparotomies were affected the most.